I press my mouth to hers, once more forcing air into her lungs, as I pull away to repeat the compression. With the first force, she begins to cough, water spouting out of her mouth.
She keeps coughing up water and I fall back as relief floods me. She's alive.
I feel a towel being placed on my shoulders, I look up and my eyes land on Sophia who smiles at me. This bitch. Before I get the chance to open my mouth Dylan clasps my shoulder, causing me to stop. I look up to him, shooting him a death glare, but he's right, now's not the time.
But I will make this witch pay for it.
"Oh god, Ellie," Arianna cries.
"I-I'm... fine," she chokes as she tries to push herself up but grunts in pain.
Shit. Her ribs. I hope I didn't fracture anything. But she's awake, that's what matters the most.
Ari gasps with worry, her voice trembles as she calls out, "El."
Eleanor coughs but waves her hand in dismissively, muttering, "Fine."
I push my still trembling hand through my hair.
Ri looks at me. "Her room," she whispers and I nod. She gets to her feet, wiping away the tears.
I snake my arms behind her neck and the back of her knees and stand up, pressing her close to myself, the towel on my shoulder falls off to the floor, but I can't care less about it.
"I-I can wa-walk," she complains between the fits of her cough, trying to wiggle and free herself from my grasp but winces, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her lips to a thin line and giving in. She coughs and wraps her arm around herself, wincing again.
I tighten my hold on her, as I will my legs to stop trembling. She's here with me, and conscious. I remind myself as I begin to take slow and steady steps to make minimal movements. I don't want to cause her more pain.
With caution I descend the steps, glancing down at her pale features. Her head is resting on my bare chest, her eyes fluttered shut, her long eyelashes are sticking together, and her lips are apart as she draws in slow breaths.
She's fine. I remind myself again, but my body doesn't stop trembling. I can't shake off the fear.
Arianna has already set towels on her bed and I carefully lower Eleanor on it. She sits and flinches.
"Take a warm shower, I'll stay here with her. Go," Arianna demands pushing me away.
I nod as I gaze at Eleanor. Her arm is wrapped around herself, and with her other hand, she rubs her temple. I don't want to leave her, but Arianna's pointed stare doesn't leave a space for argument. She's right though, I can't get sick.
So I stride out of the room and rush to my own cabin, shutting the door behind myself before heading taking off my remaining clothing, and stepping into the shower.
I turn on the faucet, setting the temperature in lukewarm water. As it pours down on me, I realize how cold I've been. I draw in shaky breaths, as I place my palms on the cool walls of the shower glass, desperately trying to calm myself.
The fear was all too familiar, even it has been more than five years since that fucked up night. But as much as it was familiar it was different too.
I still remember when they called the landline phone, one of our workers had picked it up. Dad had surprisingly come home early that night, he gave the phone to Dad. I still remember how color drained from his face. Or how panic-stricken his voice was when he told us Jay had an accident. The gut-wrenching fear from that moment till we reached the hospital and then the blinding, world crashing pain upon hearing 'we're sorry, he's no more,' and just like that, he was gone.
And just like that, I was moments away from losing her forever. From losing my Eleanor.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
Fear and pain are nothing new to me, but this terror hit me differently. It was way too different from the phone call by the police that night, but the same in some ways too. It was etched with the finality of death.
I can't even imagine what it would have been like if I couldn't have found her or she wouldn't have opened her eyes. Agony jabs my heart and engulfs me.
She was on the brim of death. Because of me.
I shouldn't have listened to her and told the captain to return to the shore.
I should have known better, I tried so damn hard to keep Soph away from her, but I failed. All along, I knew she was a danger to Eleanor and yet I left her alone. I shouldn't have done that. Maybe it was for the best if I had kept my distance from her. But I can't. I tried but I can't, it's impossible to stay away from Eleanor. She's the brightest burning flame, and I'm a moth that can't get enough.
I can't push away the sickening sense of losing her, or the thought that she was mere moments away from death. Of ceasing to exist. Of never opening her eyes again, never being able to hear her voice, see her smile. She was mere seconds away from all of these.
I was going to be the reason.
The sound of my uneven breathing mingles with the sound of water hitting the ground. My knees are barely holding me up as the thoughts rush in circles in my head.
I must pull myself together and I also need to check up on her. So I focus on my breathing, ignoring everything else until it turns normal.
Enough being pathetic for one day.
I push my hands through my hair. Everything is fine and under control.
With that thought I straighten myself, forcing my brain to pull itself together before standing underwater for few more minutes, keeping my mind void of any thought and then shutting the faucet.
I step out and dry myself, and put on fresh clothes.
Calm and collected, that's what I must be but yet I'm unable to push away the shock and fear. My insides are still fidgety.
I step out of my cabin and I'm faced with Sophia, leaning to the wall. She pushes herself off the wall and takes a step towards me, but I can't face her right now. No, I need more time to be able to keep my temper in check.
I ignore her as she calls my name as I stride towards Eleanor's room.
Just as I reach there, Ari steps out, her eyes land on me. She looks up, and reassures, "She's fine." After a long pause, she adds, "I was just going to get something warm for her to drink."
I nod.
A beat of silence passes between us, Ri pushes a strand of hair away from her face and fixes her gaze on me, "Are you okay?" she asks in a quiet voice.
"Yeah," I reply and she offers a weak smile.
"You're gonna stay with her?" she questions.
I stare at the closed door and mumble, "Yeah."
"Tell me when you're done, I don't want to interrupt," she smiles and I roll my eyes. Arianna smirks and walks away, leaving me alone in the narrow hallway.
For a moment I gaze at the door before resting my hand on the doorknob. I push my free hand through my hair before knocking.
From the other side, I hear shuffling sounds followed by Eleanor groaning, "What now, Arianna?"
I can't stop the smile forming on my face as I open the door and let myself in.
She halts midway, staring at me with surprise. Her pale cheeks turn bright pink as she looks away. "I'm sorry, I thought it was Arianna," she mumbles.
She's fine. I remind myself as I allow my eyes to travel her thin figure standing in the middle of the room.
Her pasty features in the middle of the sea flashes in my head and my heart rate picks up, with multiple blinks I shove away the image and close the door. The quivering of my body intensifies.
I take small steps towards her and stop at a safe distance away from her.
My mind refuses to collect coherent words. "Are you alright?" I manage to ask in a hoarse voice.
She glances up at me, her beautiful grey eyes, similar to layers of cloud scan my face before a small smile curls her lips. "I'm fine," she answers in her soft melodic voice.
I nod with hesitance. She still looks pale, her hair seems to be damp too, maybe a little too wet, but her clothes are fresh.
I rub my forehead with shaking fingers trying to compose myself. Mentally I was nowhere near prepared for tonight's events.
"Adrien," her gentle voice draws my gaze to her, weird knots tie and untie in my chest. It's been happening for quite some time now, each time she calls my name it makes my heart skip a beat along with these strange senses.
Her eyebrows pull together, leaving lines of concern on her brows. "Are you okay?" she questions in such a tender voice that my knees get weak.
I swallow hard, and breathe out, "Yeah." I watch her while fighting against all my senses screaming to be near her. Losing the battle I blurt, "Can I-"
But she interrupts me with a firm, "Sure."
And that's all I needed. I cross the few paces between us with long strides and wrap my arms around her, careful not to put pressure or cause her pain.
Her muscles tense for a moment before relaxing and I snuggle to her. Engulfing her in my embrace and inhale her scent. Lavender and caramel, along with the saltiness of the sea. I close my eyes and take a deep breath filling my lungs to the brim.
She smells like a pleasant summer night, in the middle of a lavender garden, with gentle breezes and a cloudless sky, with all the stars visible. The image is a portray of calm and contentment and every other positive feeling. I cling to her.
She's fine. It's over. Nothing happened to her. She's here with me now, on her own feet.
I keep repeating the words in my mind as I pull her closer to myself, the calmness her presence offers feels addicting. I nuzzle closer to her neck, my forehead brushes against her ice-cold skin. It halts me. She shouldn't be this cold, but maybe I'm a bit too hot after the stress and the warm shower.
Seconds pass and finally I feel her moving her hands. Her fingers make contact with my back, I try my best not to shudder at her icy touch. Her palms lay flat against my shoulders. The coldness seeps through the fabric of my shirt. Too cold.
Worry starts edging back into my system, I pull her closer to myself, her hands gently rubbing my back. Not ready to give up the serenity offered by her presence this close to me I hold on to her for a moment longer before pulling away and pressing my palm to her cheek while holding her wrist in my other hand.
"You're so cold," I mumble, trying to come up with a solution.
"I'm fine," she insists as she tries to wiggle her hand out of my grasp.
I frown as I survey her. "Don't you have anything warmer to wear?" I question, taking in her loose short-sleeved white shirt and her bright blue shorts.
Her gaze hardens, her jaw setting. And I've pissed her off. Eleanor is surprisingly short-tempered and magnificently good at hiding it.
"It's summer," she mutters.
"You need to warm up, I'll bring you something warm, and dry your hair." I ignore her glare as I let go of her hand. "There has to be a blow dryer in there somewhere," I add and step away from her. "I'll be back in a minute." With that, I rush to the doorframe and get out of the room.
For a moment I stand in the middle of the hallway contemplating going to Ari but I change my mind and hurry to my own cabin. Shuffling around, I find my dark grey hoodie and return to her cabin.
With a knock, I let myself in, my eyes land on her, as she tries to connect her iPad to the charger, her hair still wet.
I lock down the annoyance before it creeps out to the surface and close the door behind myself.
"Eleanor," I call her and her head snaps to me. I hold the hoodie up, inclining it to her.
She presses her lips into a thin line, her eyes darting between me and my outstretched hand. "I'm fine, stop-" she starts but I interrupt her.
"You're freezing."
She glares at me before finally giving in, with long strides I place myself next to her, getting her iPad out of her hand giving her the hoodie. With a final glare, she turns around in slow steps makes her way to the bathroom.
After connecting her iPad, I pace her room, I probably should have called Ri, she might need help with changing. Crossing my arms in front of my chest, the realization dawns on me. I just gave one of my favorite pieces of clothing to her.
A sigh falls out of my mouth, it's what I always had a fight over with my previous girlfriends, to not touch my stuff and now I'm handing them out willingly to Eleanor. I shake my head and push my hand through my hair. But she was ice cold, none of my previous girlfriends had been in this state. I reason with myself but then frown as it hits me, why the hell am I comparing her to my exes?
I need a drink. Today was just too much.
The bathroom door clicks open and she steps out. Not able to stop myself, my gaze runs up and down her body and for the first time ever, by quite literal means I feel the ground slip from under my feet. My breath hitches in my throat, she looks too good.
It hangs from her shoulders loosely, the sleeves are long for her too, but her eyes are reflecting the same color of the shirt. It suits her better than it ever suited me.
She tilts her head, raising her eyebrows, giving a forced tight-lipped smile, holding her hands slightly up and I can't hold back my own smile.
And it occurs to me, I've been shamelessly staring at her. I nod. "Good."
She glares at me. Why does she have to be so damn cute?
I shove away the thought and push my hand through my hair as a distraction and then look back at her. "Your hair is still wet," I note.
"Can you please stop," she says with exasperation.
"You'll get sick," I defend.
And as usual, she ignores me and makes her way to the bed.
Too bad I'm not planning on letting her get her way this time. So I ignore her too and walk to the bathroom. Shuffling around, I find the blow dryer and walk back into the room.
Her nose is buried in her phone while sitting crossed leg on the bed she glances up. Her eyes land on the device and they widen.
"No!" she exclaims as I connect it to the power. "I am not blow drying my hair!"
I narrow my eyes and scrutinize her, "Don't tell me you're scared of blow dryers," I joke and she glares harder at me. I bite down my laughter.
Well, I'm choosing not to care even if she is, her health is on the line for fuck's sake.
"I won't," she declares.
I shrug, "Okay, then I will." I turn on the blow dryer.
She covers her head, whining, "No." But she tries to lean back, her face scrunches up and she winces.
Shit. I lean down to her, "Are you alright?" and she nods, holding her sides. I switch off the blow dryer and gaze at her, "What's your problem with this?"
She studies my face for a moment as if deciding whether she wants to tell me or not. Finally deciding, she answers, "It makes my hair frizzier, turning it into worse than a bird's nest," she mumbles looking away, her cheeks tinting pink.
I hold back my laugh but can't stop the grin from forming on my face. I never knew she's the type to care about her appearance.
I watch her face intently as I feel my heart beat faster. The effect she has on me scares me but I don't know how to get it under control. My gaze drops to her lips, and I forcefully shove away the urge to kiss her.
Instead, I beam at her, "I promise I won't laugh."
She draws her gaze back to me and I struggle not to get lost in the clouds of her eyes. Eleanor glares at me for a moment before giving in with a sigh. Knowing that's my cue I straighten up and turn on the blow dryer.
With hesitance, I push my fingers through her hair. Her curls are surprisingly soft and they feel great between fingers. I try to focus on the task but it's hard. It's the first time I'm touching her hair. I fear the small crush I had on her back in high school might be resurfacing. With great effort, I push aside all the thoughts and irrational emotions tickling my senses and focus on the task.
After minutes, finally being satisfied with the result I shut off the blow dryer and put it away.
I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to hold back my laughter, she wasn't exaggerating about her hair turning into worse than a bird's nest.
But she still looks cute.
I shove away the thought. She looks up to me, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Do you want to come up?" I ask her. She shakes her head. "How about I bring you something to eat?" I offer.
She inhales a deep breath, flinching slightly before saying in a soft voice, "No, thanks."
I nod and shift my weight from one leg to the other, I don't want to leave her alone. Actually I can't bring myself to let her stay alone here.
Joggling my brain an idea pops up in my head, "How about we watch a movie or something?"
A small smile makes its way to her face as she shakes her head. "You don't have to do that, I'm fine here, I'll probably read a book or something."
Why doesn't she get the clue! Do I need to spell out to her that I don't want to leave her alone?
Well if she's hell-bent on throwing me out of here, I can be generous and give her a few minutes of space. "Do you want coffee?" she never declines coffee. I hold back my grin.
A corner of her lips lifts up and then the other before a full smile forms on her lips, "Okay."
I knew it!
Satisfied, I smile at her, "I'll bring it for you." With that, I make my way out of the room.